Son of the Red Sand
by Swordsoul2000
Summary: what if Gaara was not the son of the Yondaime Kazekage? what if he was actually the child of the one called the Red Sand?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto, you get the picture. This story could be counted as AU, given that I mess with cannon a bit, timelines, and outcomes etcetera etcetera. Got the idea for it by comparing some deviant art pictures of Sasori and Gaara, and realized that they look a lot alike. And I know that that is no indication of relationship, and that Gaara already has an accepted "family" if you can call it that, but as far as I know, Naruto's father is 'supposed' to be the Yondaime Hokage for no better reason that I can find but they look almost identical, AND Gaara looks nothing like his supposed 'real' family.

Naruto may not be mine, but this story is, as are any original names within it.

Gaara. When Sasori saw him for the first time, battered and beaten on the back of Deidara's bird, he was grateful for the inability of his puppet face to show emotion. That red hair, so rare in Sunagakure. That face, despite its battered appearance and the garish red tattoo. Even though his eyes were closed, Sasori knew that they would not be small black and beady like most everyone in the village. No, they would be red, or perhaps his grandmother's cool aquamarine, despite the permanent black rings that marked him as the vessel of Ichibi. Sasori knew, deep inside his puppet, sure as he knew every trick and joint of every puppet he made, that the boy was his son.

He'd never known that Nanami had another child. Now he realized that the fatal 'illness' that had killed her was actually complications due to sealing Ichibi into the child while still in the womb. And it would explain why Yuura's reports had indicated that the boy had endured a worse than usual childhood for jinchuuriki. Yondaime Kazekage had seen Gaara's unusual hair and eye color and knew that the child could not have been his own son, and thanks to the treatment of the child that he had encouraged, had nearly induced the jinchuuriki into killing the entire population of Suna.

Sasori remembered the rage he'd felt when he'd heard the report of Nanami's death, nearly 16 years ago. He'd met Nanami well before he'd fled Sunagakure after killing the Sandaime Kazekage. They had been together for years. After her second child was born, finally a boy, her husband abandoned her for his shinobi career. It had taken some time for the sweet and patient Nanami to crack the famous puppeteer's cold exterior, but eventually, they became lovers. They loved each other. Sasori because Nanami saw through the legend he was fact becoming to the real man underneath; Nanami because Sasori loved her back and paid attention to her. Her husband was more interested in sucking up to the council in hopes of being named the next Kazekage when the sandaime either died of stepped down, than his wife and children. They were happy together.

Then everything, suddenly and completely, disintegrated. After more than 3 years of either ignoring their affair or simply not noticing it, Nanami's husband suddenly decided he was violently jealous and locked Nanami in the house, setting enough traps that Sasori couldn't gain access without attracting undue attention. Then Yashamaru, Nanami's younger brother, leaked word to Sasori his parents had been sacrificed for a mission at the Sandaime's orders. Also, his team had met with the same fate, sent on a suicide mission for Sandaime's gain. That was bad enough, but Yashamaru had more news. Sandaime Kazekage felt threatened by Sasori's growing skill, and planned to eliminate the puppeteer at any cost. Cut of from Nanami's comforting, soothing, calming words and determined to make sandaime pay, Sasori had taken the ultimate step and sealed himself inside a puppet. He then attacked and killed the Kazekage, joining Akatsuki soon after he fled the village.

Sasori guessed that Nanami had been pregnant with Gaara when everything had happened. Maybe that was what had tipped her husband off in the first place. He could guess that the new Yondaime, not feeling any sympathy for the fate he was sentencing mother and child to, and desperate to bolster Suna's fading defenses which had been falling since the Daimyo started to boycott Suna's shinobi, had ordered the Ichibi to be removed from its present container and sealed within the unborn child. He didn't have to guess that Nanami, gentle sweet Nanami, feeling betrayed by everyone around her, had died with curses on her lips. The boy's name was proof enough of her state of mind at the end. Gaara. A demon that cares only for himself, and therefore is invulnerable from betrayal. It was not a stretch to assume that even Yashamaru had turned his back on the boy. Yashamaru had worshiped his sister, and would have undoubtedly have held him responsible for his mother's death.

Sasori knew through reports, that once Gaara had been convinced that the reason he had been left so alone was that no one recognized his existence, and to force people to recognize him, had determined that his purpose in life was to kill every last person in the world with the exception of himself. Yet somehow, this deadly dream had been completely turned upside down about 3 years ago. If Sasori had the timing down right, that would make it close to the time Itachi and Kisame had made their first, abortive, grab for Kyuubi. Where as before the change, Gaara had been bitter and vengeful about his childhood, now he'd concentrated his energy into protecting the people of Sunagakure, and had even been chosen as the Godaime Kazekage. He'd definitely put up a better fight than expected against Deidara. Hell, the brat had used up more energy than he could afford shielding the village from the explosive expert's special #18.

Now as the redheaded jinchuuriki was quickly prepped for the extraction ceremony, Sasori was struck by what exactly he was doing. He was preparing to kill his only son simply because the boy had the misfortune of having one of the Bijou bonded to him in the womb. The impudent brat who had the audacity to use his own puppets against him, Kankuro, must have been the same toddler he'd lulled into sleep more than once by the dancing of his less deadly puppets.

He also knew that he, alone, couldn't stop this. Sasori was no fool. Alone, with his son, he stood no chance against the other 8 members of Akatsuki. Kisame's Samehada would cut and absorb his chakra strings, rendering him unable to use the puppets he summoned. Deidara would then blow the defenseless puppets to bits. Itachi would be unable to use Mangekyou Sharingan on him, as he would be unable to find his eyes, but was good enough in close combat to make mincemeat out of any puppeteer. Zetsu's vines would anchor him to the ground. Tobi would rip his mind apart with genjutsu. Hidan would slice him to ribbons before offering him up to Jashin. He'd fare better against Kakuzu's poisons because of his puppet body, but the other 6 could easily finish him off if they worked together, which they would. And Leader, what Leader would do to him didn't bear thinking about. He had to do this, and never let any other members know about his second thoughts.

Like it? Hate it? Please review!

I made the mistake of not begging for reviews with my earlier stories, and got only a measly 3 reviews for each story. So please: puppy eyes: please review.

See the blue button? Want to know what happens when you click on it?


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay. My muse was refusing to cooperate.

First of all, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to everyone who reviewed!!!! I really appreciate it!!!

To answer one of my reviews, (you know who you are) Sasori may still die, (he won't in this chapter, the story is still ongoing) I will just have to wait and see what happens.

Also just saw Naruto shippudan 20, don't use any shippudan episodes to provide visual details as to what Chiyo, Sakura, and Sasori are doing in the chapter. Started writing it before I saw shippudan 19 and refused to rewrite it to follow cannon. This is officially AU!

Now on with the story

There was noise. And there wasn't. Gaara wasn't sure where he was, and for some reason he was exhausted, poor choice of words that it was to describe his current condition. Like some force had sucked out all the energy in him, leaving behind only the dregs. Where was he? And where was Shukaku's constant voice in his head? The temperature instantly told him that he wasn't in Suna, or even in Wind country. A subtle rushing noise in the background, combined with the dampness in the air told him that a river was only a short distance away. And the sound of wood splintering, metal clanging, and harsh breathing indicated that a fight was going on around him.

Frustrated, he tried to open his eyes, but the advanced lethargy he was experiencing prevented him from moving a muscle. He concentrated, and tried to very deliberately move his right hand. All that resulted was a slight, unnoticeable twitch.

Sounds. He started to recognize sounds. He recognized one of the voices as the annoying pink-haired teammate of Naruto's. The other two voices, a man's and an old woman's, he couldn't place for the life of him. That didn't bother him too much as a shinobi and Kazekage he had to deal with a lot of people unfamiliar to him. The man's voice though, there was something about it that made him feel-what? He didn't understand the feeling. That was definitely the distinctive sound of multiple puppets being used at the same time. The sheer number of puppets that he could hear made him uneasy, because Kankuro was the only active duty shinobi in Sunagakure that used puppets, and at absolute maximum he could only uses four puppets at a time. There were way more than four puppets being used now, and as far as he knew, the puppetry jutsu was unique to Suna.

Explosions. Splintering puppets. The male voice was saying something. "…that Ichibi has been extracted, the boy is mine now, Chiyo-baachan." Shukaku extracted? Was that why his head was so quiet? And was that why he felt so exhausted?

"You have no right-." That was the old woman what had the man called her? Chiyo-baachan? Could the old woman be the legendary Chiyo-sama, one of the two siblings that had saved Sunagakure from destruction so long ago?

"I have every right." The man interrupted. "Surely you haven't become so blind that you can't see the resemblance with a glance. Your great-grandson. And don't try to contradict me. Can you name any other family in that forsaken sand trap you call home that has red hair like ours? His hair, his height, the shape of his face, all tell me the same thing: he is my son."

Who on earth was saying this? Who was claiming to be his father? He already knew who his father was, not that he'd cared about any of his offspring. Gathering strength, Gaara concentrated his energy and tried to open his eyes again. All that he accomplished was his eyes blinking open, and then falling shut too quickly for him to see anything.

And why was some stranger he was sure he'd never met before, claiming to be his father? His father was dead, and unmourned. Orochimaru had slaughtered him so the snake sannin could assume his form for that disastrous Chuunin Exam in Konoha.

Though now that he thought about it, where _did_ his unusual hair and eye color come from? Like the stranger had said, there was no family in Suna that had that distinctive coloring. Hair in Sunagakure was usually brown or blond, like the hair colors of his siblings. Also, most Sunagakure natives had small black eyes, quite unlike his blood red hair and large aquamarine eyes. He'd thought once that Shukaku was responsible for the differences, but there were obvious limits to what even a Bijou could do to the appearance of it's holder.

Which brought everything back to the original question. Who was this person claiming that he, Gaara, was his son? Apparently a crucial part of the evidence regarding his paternity was his appearance. He almost wanted to dismiss the claim out of hand, but a small insistent part of him kept hoping, hoping that there was a reason Father couldn't stand the sight of him, even before he'd ordered Gaara's assassination. Hoping that maybe the question why Father was so quick to order him killed would be answered. Hoping that there was a reason why he had been chosen to contain Shukaku. Maybe whoever this person was, maybe he could answer some of his questions.

"You've gotten slow, Chiyo-baachan. Is age catching up to you?"

"I may be old, Sasori, but I can still outlast you." Sasori? Not the infamous puppeteer, the strongest missing-nin in Sunagakure history, Sasori of the Red Sand? His _father_? "Sakura! Now!"

"Hai!" Several puppets splintered at once, along with a small portion of the cave floor. The violent sound mirrored the violent thoughts churning through his mind. It simply could not be true. There was no way, no way in any hell that _Sasori of the Red Sand could be his father!_

Forcing his eyes open with sheer stubbornness, it was with almost uncomprehending eyes that he watched the scene in front of him play out. Puppets filled the large cavern, more than he'd ever seen at one time. Facing this immense puppet army stood two kunoichi. One of them he recognized, Sakura, the girl he'd pinned to a tree while fighting Naruto. The other kunoichi, well, old hag would be a kind description. The old hag must be Chiyo-sama; she certainly looked old enough to be a legend. Scratch that, he didn't know that people could _get_ to be that old…

Wait. Where was the man claiming to be hi father? And where was the puppeteer controlling the puppets? He knew from Kankuro that though the puppetry jutsu was by definition a long-range technique, there _was_ a maximum distance between puppeteer and puppet before the chakra strings started to snap. The shorter the distance, the quicker the reactions of the puppet. Also, because the use of puppets required both hands to utilize, using puppets while defending oneself was impossible. Therefore, a puppeteer had to stand behind his puppets, not fight beside them.

So where was the puppeteer? From the way the puppets were reacting, the puppeteer was close, so close that he should be visible. The only answer he could come up with was that the puppeteer, Sasori, Gaara guessed, was inside one of the puppets. Gaara had never heard that sealing a live animate object within an inanimate object was possible, while keeping the former alive and aware. If it was possible, whoever had figured it out had not informed the shinobi world. He snorted quietly, knowing how likely that thought was.

"Sakura, again!"

"Hai!"

One last splintering sound, louder than the previous ones. Something heavy was knocked clear of the wreckage, landing badly near himself. Almost against his will he looked, and saw himself. Almost himself. The cheekbones were a litter sharper, and the eyes were red instead of green. Everything else was the same, the hair, the shape of the face, and the shape of the eyes….

The evidence was all before his eyes. "Father…" he said, as if testing the word out.

Sasori of the Red Sand looked at him. "Hello, Gaara."

I'm eeeeeevvvvvviiiiiiiiillllll, leaving a cliffhanger here. Next chapter opens back in Suna. Already working on chapter 3, so don't worry about me dropping the story. (really, I'm getting excited about where the story is going, even I don't know exactly know where. ) It might just end up a threeshot, not sure yet. Don't forget to review, I really appreciate it


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry about the wait. This will be the last chapter of Son of the Red sand. I have to end it somewhere, and if I go on, I'll likely never finish it. This just seemed like as good a place as any to end it.

On another note, Sasori is still alive, and I may still write a sequel to this if my muse cooperates. It might be persuaded to dig up some inspiration if you review.

Thank you all so much for reading, and love you all

A sandstorm raged outside the walls of the Kazekage tower. Inside, the mind of the single shinobi inhabiting the main office was in similar turmoil.

On his desk, lay everything the village records could find on his father. Service record, official condolences on the deaths of parents, teammates, and jounin sensei. Mission reports. Files on his new puppetry making process. Bingo-book summaries. In a nutshell, nothing. No proof that he had fathered Gaara, nothing to say what he was like. _Nothing._

A Chuunin poked his head in the door. "Kazekage-sama?"

"Out." He didn't bother with an explanation.

"But, Kazekage-sama-"

"I said out."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama." The Chuunin shut the door, likely grumbling under his breath, but it didn't' matter. Looking at the mess of papers covering his normally tidy desk, he mentally swore.

The door opened again. "Out." He said without bothering to see who it was.

"Gaara, we have to talk." his visitor said with out preamble. Irritated, he half-turned, only to see his siblings standing in the half-open doorway. He sighed. Being kidnapped had the unfortunate side effect of making both his siblings, especially Temari, start hovering over him. For the last two weeks since his 'adventure', he couldn't walk down a corridor in the Kazekage tower, without one of them 'coincidentally' having to walk down the same corridor on an 'errand'.

"No, we don't." he replied, turning his back to them.

"Dammit, we do, Gaara!" Kankuro burst out. Always less patient than his siblings, Kankuro tended to be less than cautious with his words when upset. He was so predictable that one could measure his emotional state by the way he talked.

"You haven't talked to us at all since we got you back. Sakura told us something about one of your kidnapers being related to us, and we wanted to find out what you knew." That was Temari, using an argument that she knew he couldn't refute.

"Me. He's not related to you two by blood, but I believe that he's my father." He turned around and indicated the files littering his desk. "I can't prove it, not with this junk, but…" he trailed off, unsure if his siblings understood.

"But you have a feeling, like instinct. Is that right, Gaara?"

"correct." Relieved that at least one of his siblings understood where he was coming from, he went on. "The second I set eyes on him, I _knew_. Our features are similar, his face is a little sharper, and his eyes are red, but otherwise we're identical."

"Gaara that could just be a coincidence." Kankuro interjected.

"How many families living in Suna right now have red hair?" He retorted. "Don't bother guessing. The answer in none. Look at the graduation license." There was a rustle as Kankuro sifted through the papers to find the one he requested. He knew his brother had found it, when he heard the indrawn breath. "Well, I'll be dammed…" the puppeteer muttered.

"You see my point." The photo Kankuro was looking at, Gaara knew, was almost an exact copy of his own graduation license. The only differences between the two documents that stood out were eye color, expression, and the tattoo that he bore on his forehead. He didn't twitch at his brother's indignant "Hey!" when Temari simply reached over and plucked the paper out of his hand. The puppeteer promptly shut up when Temari gave him 'that look', the one that made experienced jounin feel like fumble-footed genin about to step into an obvious trap. Turning his back, Gaara ignored his siblings' byplay; he'd seen it a thousand times before. He was startled out of his thoughts when Temari asked another question.

"So what are you going to do with this new information, Gaara?"

"Nothing. That's all I can do at the moment."

"_What!_" both his siblings chorused.

"Even is I could prove that Sasori of the Red Sand is my father, what good would it do. How do you think the council is going to react to the news that the strongest missing-nin in Sunagakure history and the killer of our strongest Kazekage is my father? Even though Shukaku's gone the council still doesn't completely trust me. This could be just the excuse needed to convince certain council members that I'm too dangerous to remain in power. I can still use sand, but I can no longer assume that it will catch every threat without more training. A very determined, skilled assassin could very well kill me."

"Stop thinking about the council; start thinking about _you, _Gaara!" Temari, so-tough-I-eat-kunai-for-breakfast Temari sounded like she was about to lose control of herself. "Stop thinking like the Kazekage, and tell us what _you_ think, not what the jinchuuriki, not the demon, or even the Kazekage thinks. What does this news mean for Gaara, my little brother?"

He froze, almost unable to process what Temari was saying. With a few words, his sister had torn down the walls he'd built to keep himself detached and objective from the situation. Without speaking, he carefully moved to his desk, sitting in the chair, and turned to face the windows that lined the Kazekage tower. There, beyond the glass, beyond the desert, beyond Wind Country, his father was still out there. Automatically, his body assumed his old comfort position, knees to his chest, arms hugging his legs to his body.

"Gaara?" Temari had come around his chair to look at him. She sounded more in control of herself again. One callused hand touched his cheek. "Gaara? You're crying…"

He was? Startled, he raised a hand to his cheek as well, and felt the wetness. Tears? He hadn't cried since Yashamaru had tried to kill him…

"Hey, you alright, Gaara?" now even Kankuro sounded upset.

"I-I don't know…." He answered, voice trailing off. He didn't remove his gaze from the desert, beyond which, his father, Sasori of the Red Sand, awaited.

Owari

A million and one thanks to everyone who reviewed! I know I already said that, but I feel the urge to say it again. Just because this story is finished, however, doesn't mean that you still can't review…hehe.

I'm basing the opinion of the Sunagakure council on...what ever that episode was in shippuden, where one council member basically told Kankuro to his face that they wouldn't send out search parties for Gaara, and that they only made him Kazekage to control him. And Gaara, being Gaara, has to know that the news that Sasori is his father can only undermine his control of the council. So that's why he's keeping the news under wraps, so to speak.

Remember, review if you want a prequel, sequel, or just a random one-shot of the SRS universe. Till then! Thanks a lot for your support so far!


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